Chapter 76 - 74: Sales Secret: Sympathy

Chapter 76: Chapter 74: Sales Secret: Sympathy

About half an hour later, Lu Wei and Mirana found the last Tree-man.

The creature hadn’t mastered [Activation], so Lu Wei killed it with ease, which finally gave him a sense of participation.

With that, the "Exterminate the Tree-men" quest was considered complete. All that was left was to finish the commission to clear out the Goblin Nest, and then they could return triumphant.

But before that, they definitely needed to rest, eat something, and replenish their stamina.

"Sigh, if only Bai Ya were here."

Muttering to himself, Lu Wei used his sword like an axe and began hacking wildly at the Tree-man’s corpse at his feet. WHACK! WHACK!

Mirana stared, stunned by such a cruel act of desecrating a corpse.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, just chopping some firewood."

Lu Wei replied without looking up. "I’m going to try using the Tree-man as firewood. We’ll see if it makes the soup taste any better."

Mirana: "..."

...

...

「Dome Pillar. Golden Sword Hu Grocery Store.」

Bright sunlight shone down on the "construction site." In just one morning, Furen had already dug out a foundation ten meters long, five meters wide, and about two feet deep.

At such a speed, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a human excavator.

This was, however, also thanks to the help of Bai Ya’s group.

He was digging in the pit while Bai Ya and Zovir piled up the excavated earth, planning to build a semi-permanent stove next to it.

After all, they would surely be coming here often in the future, and building a campfire every time was a bit of a hassle.

Besides, with a stove, they could perhaps prepare more fresh food to sell to interested customers.

For example, the Adventurer Squad currently browsing their goods seemed very interested in their lunch.

That’s right. Even though the store wasn’t built yet, per Lu Wei’s instructions, they were to continue selling their goods.

And Anna, being the weakest, had taken on the role of temporary sales clerk, diligently answering the customers’ various questions.

"I’m very sorry, but our boss set this price. I don’t have the authority to give you a discount..."

"Ah, we don’t have any freebies, please forgive us..."

"I’m sorry, I don’t know how long the effects of this Insect Repellent Powder last either..."

"S-Sorry, that’s our lunch. It’s not for sale..."

Ceaselessly nodding and bowing to a Half-Beastman, Anna was diligently following the crash course Lu Wei had given her on the way here—

1. Your attitude must be humble!

2. You must apologize if a customer shows any dissatisfaction!

3. You don’t have to be honest, but you must make the customer think you are!

"In short, you must do everything you can to arouse the customer’s sympathy!"

That was how Lu Wei had summed it up at the time.

And now, it seemed Anna indeed had a unique advantage in this regard.

After all, a skinny, frail, 12-year-old girl with large, innocent eyes could easily make people lower their guard based on appearance alone.

Furthermore, her long life as a slave made her act timidly before anyone, making it even easier for people to feel sorry for her.

Honestly, with that look, if she just squatted by the side of the road, anyone with a conscience would have to toss her a few Copper Coins.

"Sir, would you like some tea?"

Raising her arm high, she held a cup of Pine Needle Tea up to the Half-Beastman who was a full three times her height. Anna’s timid voice instantly made his heart tremble, as if it had been forcefully struck by a Giant.

’AAAAH!! Heavens, what a pitiful little cutie!!’

’My heart is melting!’

"Thanks. How much did you say this ointment was again?"

"One silver..."

"Doesn’t matter! I’ll take it!!!"

...

...

[Earn 100 Gold Coins through legitimate, mutually acknowledged transactions. (6.02/100)]

"Hm?"

「Meanwhile, in Moon Creek Forest.」

Sitting by the campfire, Lu Wei’s face lit up as he looked at the notification in his mind.

The progress bar had just inexplicably increased, which meant the grocery store must be open for business.

It also proved one thing—

Even if he wasn’t the one who personally sold the goods, it would still add to the total!

Perhaps because he was the owner of the Golden Sword Hu Grocery Store, all of the store’s income counted as his earnings.

’Isn’t this great? At this rate, I’ll easily rack up 100 gold coins in sales.’

’Looks like the real difficulty is learning three Professional Skills.’

’And I’ve already asked Sebas to look for Professional Skill Books for me when he goes to Kalin Port this week.’

’With his abilities, it probably won’t be a big problem...’

Stirring the stew in the pot with a Wooden Stick, Lu Wei grew more and more excited as he thought about it, and his expression started to get a little "out of control."

Seeing this, Mirana couldn’t help but ask in confusion, "What are you smiling about?"

"Oh, nothing. Just thought of something happy."

Lu Wei immediately wiped the smile off his face. "The soup should be about ready. I’ll have a taste."

"Hm... it’s okay. Passable."

A moment later, Lu Wei pursed his lips, clearly not very satisfied with the stew.

Even though they had used very special firewood, it was just dried meat stewed with cheese, since they didn’t have any mushrooms or seasonings.

’It’ll have to do for one meal, I guess.’

’If all goes well, we can head back tomorrow at the latest.’

"How’s your recovery coming along? Should we go look for the Goblin Nest this afternoon?"

Ladling a bowl of soup for himself, Lu Wei tore off a piece of bread and asked, "Or should we rest for another night?"

"Let’s scout it out this afternoon."

Mirana didn’t try to act tough. "I still need time to recover my stamina. So today, let’s just confirm the nest’s location and the number of enemies. We’ll try to clear it out tomorrow."

"Sounds good."

Lu Wei nodded. "In that case, you don’t have to come along this afternoon. I can go by myself."

Mirana replied with a serious expression, "No. I promised Bai Ya I would protect you."

"...Alright then."

’Can’t you bear to be apart from me already, woman?’

Lu Wei took a sip of soup and asked casually, "By the way, you already have a Black Iron Badge. Haven’t you learned a single Combat Skill?"

"..."

"No."

Mirana’s hands paused as she tore her bread, and her answer came a beat too slow.

This immediately put Lu Wei on alert, and he looked up at her at once.

"We’re temporary teammates now, and we’ll be fighting together a lot more in the future. It’s better if we’re honest with each other."

"Only by fully understanding each other’s abilities can we coordinate effectively in battle, right?"

Looking at Mirana, Lu Wei’s tone was very serious, the previous nonchalance on his face completely gone.

Because his sixth sense was telling him that this woman definitely had a secret!

But Mirana kept her head down and repeated calmly:

"I already told you. I haven’t mastered any Skills."

"...You swear?"

"I swear."

Looking up at Lu Wei, Mirana spoke the two words without a hint of hesitation.

In his past life, this might not have meant much.

But in this world where Divine Spirits were everywhere, any oath... even a seemingly casual verbal one, was a very serious matter.

Even the most shameless Swindlers would first silently whisper a prerequisite in their hearts before swearing an oath—

"I swear to the great God of Fooling."

From this, it was clear that Mirana was most likely not lying.

"Alright then..."

Nodding dubiously, Lu Wei could only choose to believe her for now, seeing as she had sworn an oath.

Mirana went back to sipping her soup with her head lowered, her expression unchanging.

’She hadn’t lied to Lu Wei. She really hadn’t learned any Skills.’

’However...’

Putting a piece of bread into her mouth, Mirana chewed slowly, looking up at the wide expanse of sky, a rare sight from within the forest.

Her thoughts, like birds beneath the clouds, soared back through time, returning once again to a certain afternoon ten years ago.

On that day, the young girl was walking home dejectedly, upset that she had once again lost a favorite bookmark.

Suddenly, her gaze was drawn to a worn-out wooden statue in a rice paddy by the roadside.

"Wow, it looks like a statue of a god..."

She approached it curiously, set the statue upright, and then, full of expectation, made a childish wish.

"Can you make my tomorrow just a little bit luckier?"